World War One: Tannenberg and the Masurian Lakes

   In the summer of 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria was assassinated by Gavrilo Princip, a Bosnian nationalist who Austria believed to be sponsored by Serbia. Russia, an ally of Serbia, came to the defense of its fellow Slavic nation. When Austria declared war on Serbia, mobilization in Russia followed, which resulted in a chain reaction that brought all of Europe into war. Russia, allied with England and France, known as the Allied Powers, fought Germany, Turkey and Austria, known as the Central Powers. The reigning monarchs of England and Germany and Nicholas II of Russia were all cousins, related to each other through Queen Victoria of England.

   

Russia's involvement in World War I was catastrophic to the point of violent revolution. The Eastern front as it came to be known started quickly for Russia. Russia attacked East Prussia with two armies. General Pavel Rennenkampf and General Alexander Samsonov commanded the First and Second armies, respectively, totaling 650,000. Samsonov and Rennenkampf hated each other passionately and did not coordinate themselves. The result was a decisive defeat by a much smaller German force of about 135,000. After four days of fighting the russian Second army under Samsonov was crushed, being almost entirely killed, wounded or captured. Only 10,000 men out of 150,000 walked away. Samsonov was so humiliated after the battle he committed suicide alone in the woods and the first army was left alone to fight the Germans. Rennenkampf was pushed back and ultimately defeated at the First Battle of the Masurian Lakes. What was left of the First and Second armies retreated back into Russia. The defeat was significant. These two battles were an ominous beginning to what would become a very costly war, both politically and socially.  The moral of the army was severly weakened and the lack of leadership was overwhelmingly evident. Throughtout the war, one Russian general above all, General Brusilov, seemed to effectively fight the Germans and Austrians. Before the war even started, Brusilov stated that he wouldn't be fighting for the Tasr, Nicholas II, but for Russia. Perhaps he knew that he would one day have to make a choice between the two. Certainly, the defeats and losses at Tannenberg and the Masurian Lakes made progress on the Eastern Front far more difficult thoughout the remainder of the war.



sources

Hickman, Kennedy. "World War I: Battle of Tannenberg." About.com. Web. 22 Apr. 2015.